Dear Class of 2006...

I get really sentimental around this time of year. It's hard not to. When I came here in the Fall of '96 as an intern, you all were in the 3rd grad. I've enjoyed seeing you come go through the preteen, and Junior High Ministry. Then in the Summer of 2002, take some time to get to know you as Freshmen. Now you stand at this moment in your journey, graduates, ready to endeavor on a new adventure of life.

With each May comes a lot of reflection over where a graduating class has come. I often think of the group as a whole during this time, yet when it comes to this class of 2006, specific stories of individuals come to mind.

Some of them are fairly heartbreaking:

The student who was here every week in 7th and 8th grade, every other week in 9th Grade, every month in 10th, and not at all in 11th and 12th.

The one who knelt and prayed the prayer, only to go out the doors and choose not to embrace a change in lifestyle.

The guy who decided that there were more important things to pursue in High School, and chose not to pursue the passionate relationship with Christ.

The gal who wanted it at one time, but decided that the path that Christ was calling her toward was just too hard.


Yet, with these heartbreaks, there are also the moments when your stories have made the beautiful collision with God's Story:

That girl I prayed with at an alter between her Freshman and Sophomore year who gave her Cheerleading squad over to God, hoping that he might do a miraculous work.

The student who saw that he was a leader, and he led, not with words, but with example, as he was willing to come behind individuals and show them compassion and the love of Christ.

The one who reminded me so often of Peter in the Bible. He'd act and speak before he thought… making for some awkward moments, but many times God moved through his brokenness and passion.

The gal who lost her best her best friend the beginning of her Junior year, and rather than running from God, she ran toward Him.

The one who showed up for the first time on a Wednesday Night at the beginning of his Junior year and decided it was time to look at life through God's lenses, and stands today as an influential Spiritual giant in his class.


The guys who were faithful to meet on Friday morning to meet together, eat breakfast, and then pray for each other and their school.

The several guys and gals who decided that now was the time to begin to pass on their faith to others by serving as an assistant in a Freshman or Sophomore Small Group.

The pastors kid, who could've easily gone through the motions, and played the part of the good girl, but chose to make her faith her own, and embrace the call of God on her life.

The gal who took her musical abilities and laid them on the alter, and now every time I hear her play or sing, I sense the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The big brother who at Summer Camp knelt his little brothers feet and washed them.


I love these stories. They are only a taste of the many that are represented in this class, yet with every one of these stories I am reminded that we are a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.
Class of 2006, as you move on from this day and these weeks of Graduation, remember this one thing…
It's not about You… it's about Him.

Let His story be your story.

I, we at NMC Student Ministries dearly love you, and we believe in you.